Haaretz – Adapted

Nearly half of the Palestinian lands confiscated in the occupied West Bank for general necessities are used only by illegal settlers. This is what was demonstrated in a report published today by Kerem Navot and Hekel institutions. 

According to research done by Dror Atex and attorney Qamar Mashraqi, 320 general purpose confiscation orders have been issued for land totaling roughly 74 thousand dunums since the West Bank has been occupied until the year 2022. About 63 thousand dunums have been taken over for settlers' purposes, whereas just 1532 dunums are used by Palestinians.

There are four instances where confiscation orders were issued for areas on which settlements were subsequently built. The most extensive order since 1975, which provided for the confiscation of more than 28 thousand dunums of land from seven Palestinian villages_ on which Ma'ale Adumim settlement was established—is a clear example of the ostensible confiscation of land for the purposes of the public but actually only serving settlers. The construction of streets serving the residents of the Kidar settlement in 2002 is another example.

The data indicates a correlation between the rise in settlement construction and the number of confiscation orders issued. It's not a shell thing to talk about, said the report's writers. 56 % of all orders (179 orders) to date were issued between 1977 and 1984, with the majority of those orders falling within that time frame.